


Crazy Old World

by Aerilon452



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: A/U, Complete, F/M, Halloween Inspired, Humor, S9 Fix, Trust me this will be worth it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 13:27:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21036974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerilon452/pseuds/Aerilon452
Summary: Ezekiel has a new friend and Carol isn't pleased. All is not what it seems, though.





	Crazy Old World

**Author's Note:**

> Tis the Halloween Season. This fic is a little different then most of the stuff I write for TWD, but it is a worth a read. Especially for the ending.

_Ezekiel wasn’t waiting on the dock. Carol hadn’t realized how much that would hurt her until she was standing on the weather-beaten planks searching for his face, for his smile. He wasn’t there._  
  
  
**ALEXANDRIA:**  
  
  
_Carol came back to her former home to see familiar faces bustling about. It was then she heard his laugh and the happiness ringing on the air. She looked around, searching the crowd for him. When she caught sight of him, he was strolling along with an unfamiliar woman. And they were laughing. Carol clenched her hands into fists before knew what she was doing. “Who is that?” she asked Daryl._  
  
_ “I don’t know,” Daryl replied. It was the first time he was seeing Ezekiel with anyone outside of his group._  
  
_ “Huh…” Carol tried to keep Ezekiel in sight, but soon the swell of residents obstructed her view. She searched the crowd for him._  
  
_ Across the way, Ezekiel was laughing like he hadn’t been able to since Henry had been murdered. Cadence was a welcome companion. She was helping to heal the hole in his heart where the love for his son still burned, as well as the love for his wife. The newcomer to Alexandria was mysterious, easy with a smile, and seemed otherworldly to him. “I enjoy talking with you,” Ezekiel said with the biggest grin on his face._  
  
_ “I enjoy our conversations as well, You Majesty,” Cadence replied with a wink. Lightly she touched his arm. He moved away, forcing her hand to fall, and she knew she went a step too far. She could smell the sorrow he still carried over the loss of his son, the loss of his wife. Cadence backed away, inclining her head, and asked, “Forgive me?”_  
  
_ “You did nothing wrong,” Ezekiel quickly replied. “And it’s just Ezekiel now.” He lost the Kingdom months ago and that still hurt. The past winter had dealt him too many crippling blows that he didn’t know how he was going to heal from them. Then there was Cadence. She walked into Alexandria one day bringing with her a glimmering ray of hope._  
  
_ In her life, Cadence had known Kings and Queens, but not with the inherent nobility that Ezekiel possessed. Of course, in her life, she had lived longer than any human assembled in the Alexandria Safe Zone could even imagine. She had come to this haven practically starving and in need of something only humans could provide. Blood. Cadence had died centuries ago and had been reborn as a child of night. A vampire. When the world fell, it had been hard to find a regular meal. At the same time, she couldn’t stay in one community for far too long or else she would risk discovery._  
  
_ “I still can’t believe you’re what… you are,” Ezekiel was at a loss for words. A month ago, he had narrowly escaped being bitten by one of the dead. At the last-minute Cadence had put her arm between him and the gnashing teeth of the wasted. A bite was a death sentence. Yet, beyond all odds, she survived, and she told him how. It was hard to believe that a vampire existed in this world. But not enough. The dead has risen to feast upon the living. Vampires weren’t outside the realm of possibility._  
  
_ “The trick is not to think about it so hard and it won’t hurt your brain,” Cadence joked. Then she caught sight of a white-haired woman staring intently at them. From the way Ezekiel had talked about his wife, had described her, she knew the curious woman had to be his wife – ex-wife? It didn’t matter to Cadence one way or another. Ezekiel was her friend. To get his attention, she jerked her head in the other woman’s direction. She then said, “Someone’s interested in you.”_  
  
_ Ezekiel looked in the direction Cadence indicated and saw Carol. The good humor he had been feeling faded in a rush only to be replaced by shock, embarrassment, and then disappointment. “Not anymore,” Ezekiel replied._

_“So, if you’re not going to go and seek attention from the woman giving me some serious glare and stare action, could I possibly tempt you to go with me out beyond the wall?” Cadence was mischievous by nature and was looking to have some fun today._

_“That depends on where it is you’re going,” Ezekiel replied giving her one of his easy smiles. _

_“Would you believe me if I said I had to go to the post office?” Cadence asked giving him an innocent look. _

_Ezekiel scoffed. “The post office?” _

_“I need to mail a letter,” Cadence said and then burst out laughing._

_Ezekiel joined in, laughing with her. “Just for that, I will accompany you.” He had to get out, to dispel this feeling of being cooped up. Now that Carol had returned, he felt the urge to be elsewhere. It hurt him too much to see her but not to be with her. The loss of his son had been worse than any mortal blow he would ever receive. It also made him angry to see Carol act as if he wasn’t grieving. _

_Cadence crossed her arms and looked smug._

** _OUT IN THE DEAD WORLD:_ **

_Ezekiel made sure he stayed alert to any threat from the horde of the dead that controlled most of the area. For whatever reason Cadence seem oblivious to the threat they were under – whether it be from Whisperers or other people moving through their territory. At least, that was how she seemed to him. In truth, she was even more aware of their surroundings than he was. “Why the post office?” he asked._

_“Why not?” Cadence replied with a shrug of her right shoulder. “Who in their right mind would think, ‘Oh, let’s go steal stuff from the post office’?”_

_“You, apparently,” Ezekiel responded, giving her a wink._

_“We might find some good stuff. Before the world fell, it was the golden age of online shopping,” Cadence informed. She had been guilty of it as well. Amazon had been her best friend when she lived in New York. Then, as if sensing someone was watching, Cadence covertly looked towards the wooded area._

_Concealed in the trees that lined the road, Carol followed Ezekiel and his female companion trying to catch snippets of their conversation. When she glanced at the other woman, Carol could’ve sworn that she was looking right at her. That had her stopping in her tracks. Certainly, Ezekiel’s female friend didn’t know she was there. _

_On the road, Ezekiel caught Cadence staring off into the distance. “Hey? See something?” He then looked in the same direction, but nothing jumped out at him. All he saw were trees. _

_“No, nothing at all,” Cadence replied._

** _POST OFFICE:_ **

_“So much for your brilliant plan,” Ezekiel quipped. There, on the door, was a giant padlock to keep the doors sealed. Through the window they saw the dead pressing against the glass, trying to get to them. _

_“Don’t be hateful,” Cadence replied grumpily. If nothing else, they got out from under the watchful eye of the guards and had a nice stroll. “We could always go back.” _

_“We’re here now might as well poke around and see what we can find,” Ezekiel said, patting her on the shoulder. They were far away from the boarder Alpha forced the communities to agree to. He had yet to go to the spot where his son’s head had been mounted on a pike. Thinking about it now, he clenched his hands in fists of rage. After a few seconds, he exhaled and uncurled his fingers. Turning to lead the way, he came face to face with Carol, and she was angry. _

_“Have you lost your mind?” Carol asked angrily. She had tracked the pair of them all the way from Alexandria, watching them act like idiots rather than survivors of the end of the world. _

_“Since when do you care?” Ezekiel asked in response._

_Carol opened her mouth but closed it almost immediately. She wanted to say she still cared, that she needed space from him. The words wouldn’t come. _

_“Uh huh…” Ezekiel expected her silence and distance. He looked around for Cadence, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found. “Cadence?”_

_“Is that her name?” Carol asked, not meaning to sound jealous. _

_“She’s my friend,” Ezekiel responded. He gave her a look that said, ‘don’t be a hypocrite’. There was talking about her and Daryl that he had ignored over the years. Then he caught sight of Cadence, ducking around a corner. Curious as to what she was up to, he followed. Carol followed him. _

_Cadence tugged on a back door. Something was wedged in there to keep it barricaded. With a harder tug she yanked the door open. The sound was louder than she intended and that drew the dead. “Oh, crap!” she exclaimed. Using her strength and speed, she killed three of the wasted in the blink of an eye. It was then she sensed Ezekiel behind her. Turning – even though it was against her better judgement – she looked for them. Another crowd of the dead had been drawn by her noise. _

_Hungry gnashing teeth sank into her shoulder, flesh being ripped away. Cadence roared in agony. She jerked free and killed the one that had bitten her. Rage burned through as she cut through the rest of the dead._

_The last of the wasted had been dispatched to hell. Ezekiel cleaned his sword and then returned it to its sheath. Carol had fought beside him, much like she had during the war with the Saviors. It felt good to have her at his back. The flare of nostalgia faded when he glanced over his shoulder. Cadence was on her knees, holding her shoulder. _

_Carol knew what had to happen next._

_“How long this time?” Ezekiel asked._

_“I can already feel it spreading. Twenty-four-hours probably and the hallucinations will be worse than ever.”_

_That struck Carol as weird. “Wait… This time? You’ve been bitten before?”_

_Cadence nodded. “I saved Ezekiel from becoming one of those things a few months ago.”_

_“No one’s immune to this,” Carol argued. _

_“I’m already dead,” Cadence said without a moment’s hesitation. She pulled her shirt aside and showed the other woman. “My wound is already healing. All that’s left for me is to suffer hallucinations.”_

_Dead? Was she serious? Carol had heard a lot of crazy talk caused by the end of the world, but this was by far the craziest. “You’ve lost it,” she stated. _

_“It’s true,” Ezekiel said solemnly. “I was there. I watched her heal from the bite.” He even watched her feed on a stray hiker until he was unconscious. Her chin had been painted a brilliant crimson and her eyes glowed a sinister green._

_Carol looked at the bite again and there was nothing left but unbroken skin. “This is insane!”_

_“Right, because the dead eating human flesh is completely logical…” Cadence quipped and rolled her eyes._

_Ezekiel helped Cadence up. What he saw next made his blood run cold. A sea of dead bodies was stumbling towards them. “Oh, my God….” _

******

Ezekiel bolted up in bed and shouted, “NO!” He breathed heavily, not knowing where he was at first. Then, as he looked around, he saw he was back in the Kingdom, in the bed he shared with his wife. Did he dare look to his right to see if she was there? Arms came around him and lips touched his temple. He knew that touched. “I was worried you wouldn’t be here.” 

Carol held her husband, smiling. “Where else would I be? I sleep here too,” she said with a playful bite to her words. Ezekiel’s skin was slick with sweat. He had been tossing and turning, caught in the grips of a dream.

Ezekiel turned in Carol’s arms, his eyes searching hers. Before he could stop himself, he asked, “Is Henry…?” 

“He’s asleep in his room,” Carol answered. “Why?” The fear on her husband’s face was starting to make her worry. 

“I dreamt he was dead. You left me. The Whisperers attacked. Months went by and I ended up being friends with a vampire,” Ezekiel answered and then laughed, lowing his head to her shoulder. 

“Okay… No more horror movies before bed for you,” Carol mumbled, trying to hold back the smile wanting to curve her lips. His laughter always did that to her. “A vampire? Really? Of all the crazy things you’ve ever dreamed… that takes the cake.” 

Ezekiel pulled back and said, “I can’t believe it myself.”

“Well, it is Halloween,” Carol chuckled. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. 

Ezekiel snorted. “Everyday is Halloween,” he replied. The dream was already starting to fade from his mind, as was the fear and sadness that went with it. His son was alive, they were home, and he had his wife with him. The world had still ended, and the Whisperers were still a threat, but none of that mattered to Ezekiel from the confines of his marriage bed. He stretched out, pulling Carol with him. She rested her head on his chest and for this moment, this tiny shred of time they could have together before their people needed them, they were enjoying each other.

**THE END**


End file.
